The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1887-01-20
Our Supervisors Taken to Task by a
Wide Awake Critic.
Editor Brookhaven Leader:


lished, aud l want to say that it seems to
me some acts of the Board deserve TO be
censured. One Of these is the policy fol
lowed by the present Board and their
predecessors also, toward the creditors OF
the county. Instead of trying to build
up the county's credit and bring her war
rants up to par, the policy pursued to-
wards the creditors of the county seems
to be intended to effect the very reverse.
For example, laws have been secured at
two sessions Of the Legislature, requiring
all evidences of county indebtedness to
be registered within limited time I'M
der pam of forfeiture, in order that the
holders of county warrants might he dis
covered and taxed, but no provision has
been made to pay these warrants after be-
| ing registered, which the holders have
had to pay taxes on at their face value
when they were worth only o. to 10 cents
OIL the dollar, and not a dime of interest
to he realized on them The old Board
could have wiped out most all of the
county's indebtedness by levying the full
| limit of taxation allowed by law, and this
would have been far the cheapest and
quickest way out of our financial embar-
rassment, but this it refused to do, and
since then the limit OF taxation has been
reduced.
| A fragrant example of the foolish and
short-sighted policy of needlessly agGra-
waiting crdtors, increasing the indebted
ness and iniuring the credit of the conn
! ty, is furnished in the Lichtcnstein case.
Here were several thousand dollars worth
of warrants about the validity of which
there was not Il qucstlon-they had been
registered in the office of the Chanccry
Clerk as required by law and all-and
there was no more question about the
cOuntys owing them than if it had been
plain case of note of hand, but no pro-
vision was made for their payment. Aud
when suit was entered in the United
States Court to enforce payment, what
did our county Solomons do, confess judg-
nent 7 Not they. They took counsel of
some of the sharp Brookhaven attorneys,
whose business it is to catch all the fees
they can, and contested the payment. |
read your editorial in THE LEADER of
few weeks ago reviewing the points rails
ed in the case by these attorneys before
Judge Hill, and such technical hair-split-
ting over plain matter excited my Won
der, and reckon did the learned Judges
too. Now, by the proceedings published
last week. | notice one of these lawyers
comes forward and claims $780, 90 for his
services, and by the time the other col
lccts his hundred and fifty and the county
pays all the Court costs in the case, be-
sides being forced to pay the original
amount sued for, the Board will feel hap
ply. | have heard that one member, S.
p. Oliver, voted against fighting this
claim in the Courts, and if so, it ought to
be known to his credit.
If the Board can't levy tax enough to
wipe cut the couuty's Indebtedness, be-
cause of legal restrictions or making it
burdcnsomc, why not have the debt
bonded, or else appropriate the levy for
each year to the payment of the war
rants that have been longest outstanding,
and SO on every year, practicing the
strctest economy i'll current expenses, I'M
til.all indebtedness is finally Cancelled ?
Such policy would at least bear the i'm
press of honesty and fair dealing. The
register would show how far The levy for
each year would go in paying warrants
of each of former years in their order Gas
snming all such warrants to he register
ed AS required by the special Acts before
alluded toy, and in this way the credit of
the county would be improved, and the
market value of all warrants increased
because Of the greater certainty when
payment at face value might be expect
ed. Neither would there be any more sus
pcion of favoritism by the county treas
urer in cashing warrants.
To an outsider, it looks like our Board
gets off sometimes, too, on the allowance
of accounts. For example, l remember
that the sheriff was paid nearly hun
dred dollars for carrying prisoners to
jackson and lunatic to Meridian-may
be so because county paper Is so cheap.
Also in the proceedings published last
week that L. C. Maxwell was allowed
$500 for keeping three pauper children ~
days very reasonably, Mrs. Wells was
allowed $500 for keeping three pauper
children 80 days (also very reasonably
and that J. W. Rails was allowed Slo.OC
for keeping three pauper children 30 days
(still pretty reasonably, but why such
discrepancy
Am glad the Board has decided to cor
time to have their proceedings published
and that they intend to contine all official
publications to one paper. L know tins
will please the taxpayers much better,
and they will willingly pay the small ex'
ira cost, just to get to sec how the Board
runs the county machine. Though they
amt saying much, our county Solons may
rest assured the eyes of the people art
unou them. COMMON SENSE.
The Only Way 90 Conquer Dys'
Prpsia.